Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Save The World And Improve Your Self Image.

Finally some good news.  (yeah that solar panel is good news, but we all knew that was coming)  Turns out Pursuit Dynamics has been working on a more energy efficient way to brew beer.  Hell yeah.  They shoot steam at supersonic speeds, drastically reducing the energy required to boil wort.  Normally I worry about the cost of my beer conveyances (bags, boxes, bottles, cans) but hardly ever consider the environmental costs of preparing the frosty beverages at the getgo.

Hopefully this technique will prove vastly superior, or at least get other brewers thinking about alternative methods too.  This is the kinda thing I really get stoked about, saving 40% of heating costs, because the way to really tackle conservation is to refine efficient production and make the most of the energy we have.  Make better use of renewable resources and consume less; not figure out ways to keep expending the same energy from different sources.
Oh, P.S.
That solar panel is the cheapest production solar panel to date from NanoSolar.  It contains no silicon and hits the 99 cent/watt point that analysts theorize is the breaking point with coal power.  That is solar is now priced competitively with coal without the emissions; and the technology will only improve in efficiency over the coming months.

P.P.S.
Check out this town in Italy that is powered 100% by renewable resources.  They combine wind, solar and hydro-power to meet all the energy demands and rake in about half a million dollars in government supplements to boot.  Also their food is almost entirely supplied by local organic farmers.  Basically they're kicking everyone's ass.

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